the Rome Blog

Staying in a convent can be a peaceful, inexpensive alternative to a hotel but one disadvantage is that there’s likely to be a curfew. Generally starting somewhere between 10pm and midnight, the curfew means that convent accomodation isn’t generally for the late night crowd. However, if you’re an obsessive reader and like to round off the day’s explorations with a book, it can be perfect.

The first time I stayed in a Roman convent I spent my evenings of politely enforced solitude reading My Secret Book, a comparitively little-known work by the Renaissance poet Petrarch. The book, which Petrarch apparently never intended for publication (hence the title), takes the form of three imagined dialogues between the poet and St Augustine, in which Petrarch deals with his unhappiness by confronting his various vices and weaknesses (more…)

2007 being the bicentenary of the birth of Giuseppe Garibaldi, I’ve been reading My Life, an abridged edition of his memoirs published in English by Hesperus Press.

None of the wounded complained; the only cry that could be heard from those under the surgeon’s knife was “long live Italy!”. When a people reaches this point, it is time for the Pope with his tiara, the foreign bullies and the domestic tyrants to pack their bags and leave. (more…)

 

It’s good to see that Il Falcone Maltese is still in print and going strong. Claiming to be the first monthly Italian magazine dedicated to giallo & noir (a nice combination of colour and language there), Il Falcone Maltese was launched last year by a team including sci-fi and crime author Massimo Mongai. (more…)

At the beginning of every academic year, many universities in the UK present their students with little goodie bags. These bags contain fliers for local clubs, booklets with various bits of information on nearby doctors and on-campus events, loyalty cards or coupons for local shops and maybe a chocolate bar or a couple of condoms.

If something similar were made available for new expatriates arriving in Italy (and it should be), it would have to contain a copy of The Italians by Luigi Barzini. (more…)